Deciding to become a published author is no small decision – for many it’s a dream come true, for others, it’s a calling and for others it is a way to share their expertise, experience or their point of view with the world.

LinkedIn is a critical networking tool for everyone – no matter where they are in their career journey.

Is your LinkedIn profile working as well for you as it should?

Alice Patterson is not just another photographer. She specializes in personal brand photography for women entrepreneurs. She has created and designed her business, Loving My Company, to be a unique membership for female business owners who are expanding their businesses and their networks through very engaging social media and content marketing.

Full disclosure: I don’t start the new year ready. It’s not my thing. I like to enjoy the holiday time of the end of the year being with family and friends and slowing down. My brain can’t wrap around reflections and resolutions. So I’ve made peace that January is my month to get ready for the upcoming year.

Lizzy Fox is a Social Media Manager and Brand Strategist at By Elizabeth Fox. She joins me to discuss content planning. She shares her insights about content strategy with the goal to help us all get organized to be more effective, starting today.

Having recently spent several days in Newport at my beloved Newport Folk Festival (live music again – yay!), I’ve realized why I love it so much beyond the music. It’s about how it’s run which also dictates the amazing community (#folkfamily) that shows up faithfully year after year.

I don’t remember when, where or how this phrase came into my lexicon but it’s been a very important one recently and I almost feel like it’s become a mantra, a calling, maybe even a guide.

While Brooke and I met waayyyy back in our magazine publishing days, she has since worked in nearly every capacity of the book publishing world. She now balances her book work between the roles of ghostwriter and book editor. In addition to being one of the most fun AND funny people I know, Brooke has really smart things to say about helping authors.

Even though George started with his design passion way back in high school and carried him through college, his journey to become a book designer was anything but straightforward. Being part of a publishing start-up out of college George got immediate exposure to client facing work. Nearly 12 years later he had grown into the “Creative Director” position with a staff larger than the entire company when he had started.

After going through the “brand breakthrough” process with Michelle earlier this year, I was so captivated with her approach that I really wanted her to share it with others. Listen to our conversation, where she explains the concept of branding – in an authentic way that makes sense – and is FUN!

How are you springing out into the rest of this year?

Whether it’s because it’s spring, the second quarter, or the fact that the world feels like it’s coming back to life, it feels like we should be planning and taking some next steps, right?

Yes, Clubhouse is Another. Social. Media. App.
Cue the eye roll and know that I did not want to engage either. I don’t need another thing to do (or distract me) and was happy to sit this one out. But I can’t (I’m blaming Jen Lehner) and I don’t think you should either.

It was such fun to geek out and be nerdy about all things LinkedIn and personal branding with Marietta Crawford of MariBrands4You. We were dropping all kinds of good advice and wisdom about the power of raising your online profile.

CFA and Founder of Family Capital Strategies, David C. Wells, Jr. recently launched his first book, When Anything is Possible: Wealth and the Art of Strategic Living. I had the honor of working with David on helping him get ready for his book launch in January. Check out our video conversation where we walk through David’s journey from writing his book to launch and beyond.

So many good things are happening this month that can help you better show up online or onstage or in your writing. Below are several free (or nearly free) events hosted by some of my favorite people who are tops in their fields. 

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working with several clients on what I like to call “content conversations” because that is truly what they are — much more collaborative and conversational than “content planning meetings” — which sounds and feels much more generic and overwhelming. 

May we never ever experience a year like the one we have just had. But if we can focus on the positive, even if for a moment, I’d like to acknowledge the things that made this year more than tolerable, at least for me.

Learn from PR pro, Katie Reiss of KT Media Strategies, how authors can use PR and publicity to get better visibility for themselves and their books.